Man set himself ablaze outside Trump trial courthouse

A man set himself on fire outside of former president Donald Trump’s trial in New York City this afternoon. Nearby media outlets caught the disturbing scene on camera, in which his body was engulfed in flames, with a nearby reporter urging for a fire extinguisher.

One person attempted to pat down the fire with his jacket, until another arrived with the fire extinguisher. An eyewitness told PIX11 News they were standing next to the man when he began pouring a flammable liquid on himself. The witness claims that the man made political statements before starting the fire.

Newsweek‘s Katherine Fung reports that the man was apparently holding a sign that included a link to a Substack with a letter entitled: “I have set myself on fire outside the Trump Trial.”

“My name is Max Azzarello,” the letter reads, “and I am an investigative researcher who has set himself on fire outside of the Trump trial in Manhattan. This extreme act of protest is to draw attention to an urgent and important discovery: We are victims of a totalitarian con, and our own government (along with many of their allies) is about to hit us with an apocalyptic fascist world coup.”

The letter goes on to suggest that “The US government is fully involved” in what he suggests is a “Ponzi scheme so large that it created global inflation.”

Records show that Azzarello had filed a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court in April 2023. The lawsuit names over 100 defendants, includes the likes of Saudi Arabia, Mark Cuban, Ross Perot, and Bill and Hillary Clinton. The New York Times confirmed Azzarello’s identity with a high-ranking law enforcement source.

Inside the courthouse, after days of back and forth, a full jury panel was finally selected to hear the controversial “hush money” case. Around 500 jurors were initially evaluated, with less than a fifth of them receiving an invitation to the courtroom. Of those, more than half were later dismissed, as finding a particularly impartial crowd in Trump-friendly Manhattan proved difficult. The saga, which had thousands of Americans acting like jury consultants, came to an end.

The heated discourse around the merits of the case, with accusations of political persecution thrown around by the embattled presidential candidate, held the attention of the national and global media.

In late February, an active-duty airman, Aaron Bushnell set himself alight outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC. With Bushnell being recorded shouting “Free Palestine,” the intent was clear. In this case, it took time to connect the dots.